Scott Fischer Enterprises

Shook Kelley worked with Motorsports Solutions—now renamed Scott Fischer Enterprsies—to develop a Brand Strategy that provides direction and clarity for the brand, develops a philosophy for shaping dealership experiences and figures out how SFE can create cohesiveness throughout their network.

Motorsports Solutions was a consultant company and parent organization for a set of motorcycle dealerships throughout the United States. Their dealerships sold a range of new and used motorcycle brands, including Harley-Davidson, Kawasaki, Suzuki and others. Shook Kelley worked with Motorsports Solutions to develop a Brand Strategy intended to provide direction and clarity for the brand, develop a philosophy for how they could shape and standardize their dealership experiences and figure out how they could create more cohesiveness throughout their network. As one key result of the project, Motorsports Solutions renamed itself Scott Fischer Enterprises (SFE), after their founder and leader, Scott Fischer. Shook Kelley built on the Strategy work to develop a number of brand components for SFE, including a new brand identity and a newsletter, among other projects, which all helped bring the dealership network together into a single brand.

Shook Kelley’s Discovery research for the project included site visits, interviews and brand research that investigated models for this unique enterprise. While the name Motorsports Solutions was satisfactory, it lacked the organization’s sense of brand meaning and purpose, which was something the entire organization wanted to better capture. While designed for financial results, the meaningful goal of the brand was to transform lives by getting people to ride motorcycles. The new brand name, Scott Fischer Enterprises, came to embody the way that their founder and leader, Scott Fischer, guided the overall enterprise, leading by example. Truly a self-made man, Scott is an archetypal relationship-builder who also has a long-standing passion for the products he sells.

A tagline was created that soon became a mantra for the entire organization: “Work Hard, Ride Hard.”

The Scott Fischer Enterprises’ Brand Strategy project led to a set of different tangible vehicles to communicate the brand. The new name called for a new brand identity that could capture the spirit of the brand. Among other issues, the identity had to work as a system for the entire dealership network, supporting and authorizing each dealership brand without adding too many new visual elements. Further, a tagline was created that soon became a mantra for the entire organization: “Work Hard, Ride Hard.” Beyond just a catchy temporary tagline, people throughout the dealership network continue to use the tagline as a way to identify themselves as part of the SFE brand. The “Pipeline” Newsletter was an existing communication device that Shook Kelley thoroughly revamped in order to create an internal forum, prompting on-brand conversation topics for an organization spread out and separated over many miles and multiple states.

The SFE branding project was unique because it was specifically focused on culture change above all other goals, making it potentially difficult to measure success. But when the recession hit in the late 2000s, and the entire motorcycle industry took a giant hit in sales, SFE found its way to solid ground, in part through its cultural cohesion and strong sense of strategic bearings. SFE recognized the importance of a community that sticks together, the value of hard work and the need to focus on personal relationships above all else. By the end of the recession, SFE had further clarified its brand, casting aside its non-Harley dealerships to focus on the brand’s true calling: creating some of the world’s best and best performing Harley-Davidson dealerships. As one result of the process, the group recognized that the Harley-Davidson brand was really at the core of their passion.

SFE created a rallying cry around “Work Hard, Ride Hard.” It’s a potent mantra that has helped convene SFE’s internal organization, by pointing to a common identity. These are all people who work hard, and they love to ride their Harleys. In the past, and at many other Harley dealerships around the world, you won’t always encounter Harley enthusiasts servicing or selling these motorcycles. Instead, they often stand on the shoulders of this great brand. But at SFE, everyone recognizes that the power of the Harley community actually begins at and revolves around the cohesion and power of the dealership community. From that powerful core, the SFE brand community can build sustainable and loyal relationships with customers, including long-standing riders and younger or new riders, too.

Motorsports Solutions was a consultant company and parent organization for a set of motorcycle dealerships throughout the United States. Their dealerships sold a range of new and used motorcycle brands, including Harley-Davidson, Kawasaki, Suzuki and others. Shook Kelley worked with Motorsports Solutions to develop a Brand Strategy intended to provide direction and clarity for the brand, develop a philosophy for how they could shape and standardize their dealership experiences and figure out how they could create more cohesiveness throughout their network. As one key result of the project, Motorsports Solutions renamed itself Scott Fischer Enterprises (SFE), after their founder and leader, Scott Fischer. Shook Kelley built on the Strategy work to develop a number of brand components for SFE, including a new brand identity and a newsletter, among other projects, which all helped bring the dealership network together into a single brand.

Shook Kelley’s Discovery research for the project included site visits, interviews and brand research that investigated models for this unique enterprise. While the name Motorsports Solutions was satisfactory, it lacked the organization’s sense of brand meaning and purpose, which was something the entire organization wanted to better capture. While designed for financial results, the meaningful goal of the brand was to transform lives by getting people to ride motorcycles. The new brand name, Scott Fischer Enterprises, came to embody the way that their founder and leader, Scott Fischer, guided the overall enterprise, leading by example. Truly a self-made man, Scott is an archetypal relationship-builder who also has a long-standing passion for the products he sells.

A tagline was created that soon became a mantra for the entire organization: “Work Hard, Ride Hard.”

The Scott Fischer Enterprises’ Brand Strategy project led to a set of different tangible vehicles to communicate the brand. The new name called for a new brand identity that could capture the spirit of the brand. Among other issues, the identity had to work as a system for the entire dealership network, supporting and authorizing each dealership brand without adding too many new visual elements. Further, a tagline was created that soon became a mantra for the entire organization: “Work Hard, Ride Hard.” Beyond just a catchy temporary tagline, people throughout the dealership network continue to use the tagline as a way to identify themselves as part of the SFE brand. The “Pipeline” Newsletter was an existing communication device that Shook Kelley thoroughly revamped in order to create an internal forum, prompting on-brand conversation topics for an organization spread out and separated over many miles and multiple states.

The SFE branding project was unique because it was specifically focused on culture change above all other goals, making it potentially difficult to measure success. But when the recession hit in the late 2000s, and the entire motorcycle industry took a giant hit in sales, SFE found its way to solid ground, in part through its cultural cohesion and strong sense of strategic bearings. SFE recognized the importance of a community that sticks together, the value of hard work and the need to focus on personal relationships above all else. By the end of the recession, SFE had further clarified its brand, casting aside its non-Harley dealerships to focus on the brand’s true calling: creating some of the world’s best and best performing Harley-Davidson dealerships. As one result of the process, the group recognized that the Harley-Davidson brand was really at the core of their passion.

SFE created a rallying cry around “Work Hard, Ride Hard.” It’s a potent mantra that has helped convene SFE’s internal organization, by pointing to a common identity. These are all people who work hard, and they love to ride their Harleys. In the past, and at many other Harley dealerships around the world, you won’t always encounter Harley enthusiasts servicing or selling these motorcycles. Instead, they often stand on the shoulders of this great brand. But at SFE, everyone recognizes that the power of the Harley community actually begins at and revolves around the cohesion and power of the dealership community. From that powerful core, the SFE brand community can build sustainable and loyal relationships with customers, including long-standing riders and younger or new riders, too.